Pixel Scroll 6/6/18 Rishathra And the City And The City

(1) EMMY CAMPAIGN. Comicbook.com spotted these “For Your Consideration” videos touting Star Trek: Discovery for costuming and makeup Emmy nominations.

(2) WISCON PROGRAM NOTES. Yes, there were other panels at WisCon… Lady Business has launched a series of posts to tell you about them, beginning with – “WisCon 42 Panel Writeups: ‘Positive Representations of Masculinity’”.

I didn’t think to say this during the panel itself, but I’ve seen the “helping hand” ethos more and more on reality tv lately. I’ve been watching a lot of Face Off, which is a makeup/special effects artist competition show, and once of the great sellings points of that show for me is how often the competitors help each other. On that show there’s often an element of “this person’s idea for the makeup is so good and it would be a shame if they didn’t manage to realize their vision because of [impediment of the hour].” It’s great to see this approach spreading through more and more competition shows. It’s not just a question of what kinds of contestants are on these shows, but deliberate editing decisions about choosing to play up cooperation rather than conflict. Face Off started out playing up the conflict a lot more in early seasons, but as the show went on they chose more and more to highlight the collaborative aspects and the artistry. I think this is a really important trend in terms of what producers and editors predict or perceive audiences reacting well to, and it’s a trend we can and should reward.

(3) WISH FULFILLMENT. C.E. Murphy’s friends made it happen — “Agent Carter Kisses”.

I have, from time to time, made noises about how much I wanted the Agent Carter kit from Besame Cosmetics, all with a “maybe someday I can buy it” wist.

Well, some of my friends conspired and got it for me as a birthday gift! In fact, I got the package from the Lead Conspirator, my friend Mary Anne, and I thought “???” and turned it to see ‘cosmetics’ written on the customs form, and, as Young Indiana will attest, said, “Oh, she didn’t,” right out loud.

… Later, after everybody said BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER ONES I went to try them, too, and holy carp.

Me, looking at the color of the 2nd lipstick (“Forget Me Not”): oh, this will definitely by my least favorite of three colors.

Me, putting it on: holy shit if this is my LEAST favorite this is gonna be an AMAZING trio!!!

The products are still available from Besame Cosmetics’ Agent Carter Shop.

We are overjoyed to introduce our 1946 Agent Carter collection. This labor of love was sparked by Marvel’s use of our popular shade, 1946 Red Velvet, on the iconic Agent Carter. Peggy’s fierce independence, glamour, and intelligence — as well as our love for the series — inspired us to create a collection dedicated to the show.

(4) GUFF. Congratulations to Donna Maree Hansen for publishing her GUFF Trip Report so quickly!

My GUFF trip report is complete at 62 pages comprised of 26,000 words and photos. The report contains the account of the trip I made to Finland for Worldcon 75 and my adventures meeting fans around northern Europe, Ireland and the UK.

If you would like a copy then please order below. All money raised from the report goes to the GUFF to support other SF fans to travel to SF cons in Europe and Australasia.

I’ve set the minimum donation to $7.00.

Thank you in advance.

(5) IT COMES IN THE MAIL. Seen at ~12:00 in this video, Campbell (best new writer) nominee Jeanette Ng sent a copy of her book with a thank you note to the creators of a wrestling podcast she thanked in the acknowledgements.

DMS, who sent the item, says “And, yes, I do watch a show about opening mail.”

(6) A PEEK AT THE BALLOT. Joe Sherry resumes his Nerds of a Feather series with “Reading the Hugos: Novella”

River of Teeth: From my review: “Um, did you know there was a serious plan to bring hippopotamuses to America to alleviate a meat shortage? I didn’t either, but Sarah Gailey did. I’m so happy that she knew this because it grew into this insanity of a novella that delivers a fantastic story that feels like the wild west as seen from hippoback. River of Teeth is glorious, but it is more than just the wonderful idea of using hippos as beasts of burden and transit (and oh, this idea is so well excuted) – it is also filled with striking characters like Winslow Remington Houndstooth and Regina Archambault, but the whole cast, really. It’s great.” The fact that this is my least favorite of the finalists does not denigrate River of Teeth at all, but rather it shows just how high the bar is in this category.

(7) ON FIRE. Paul Weimer’s latest Nerds of a Feather contribution is “Microreview [book]: Fire Dance, by Ilana C Myer”.

In 2015, attracted by it’s cover and premise, I became interested in the work of then debut novelist Ilana C Myer. Her Last Song Before Night was a triumph of poetry, language and worldbuilding that immersed me from the first page and refused to let me go. I was left wanting to learn much more about Lin and her world of Court Poets, returning magic, and vivid language.

Fire Dance, although not strictly a sequel to Last Song Before Night, returns us to that same world, set not longer thereafter. The consequences of Lin’s unleashing of long suppressed magic in the land of Eivar is only starting to be felt, with none understanding what this will truly mean….

(8) VACATIONING FROM THE NEW AND SHINY. Book Smugglers’ Ana Grilo turns back to “Old School Wednesdays: The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus #1) by Jonathan Stroud”.

This is another entry in a series of Old School Wednesdays posts, brought to you by the amazing folks who supported us on Kickstarter. As one reward level, backers were given the opportunity to pick an Old School title for one of us to read and review online.

It starts with the summoning of one of the most powerful djinn in history, Bartimaeus. He is tasked with stealing the Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, one of England’s greatest and most powerful magicians. Bound and controlled by the magician who summoned him (and WHO could have that kind of power?), Bartimaeus sets out to accomplish the deed.

(9) TIMESCAPE IMPRINT. James Davis Nicoll reminds Tor.com readers “Why Editors Matter: David Hartwell’s Extraordinary Timescape Books”.

Thanks to Asimov’s repeated admonitions that editors matter, I began at an early age to pay attention to the humans responsible for the books I consumed en masse. When I knew which editors were behind the works I liked, I would follow them from company to company. Thus I first became aware of Hartwell as the person behind Pocket Books’ remarkable Timescape imprint1.

(10) MAREN OBIT. Jerry Maren, the last of The Wizard of Oz’ Munchkin actors, died in May. The Hollywood Reporter has the details: “Jerry Maren, Last Surviving Adult Munchkin From ‘Wizard of Oz,’ Dies at 98”.

He also appeared in ‘Superman’ and Marx Brothers movies, as well as on television in ‘The Gong Show’ and ‘Seinfeld.’

Jerry Maren, the last surviving adult Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz, has died. He was 98.

The actor, who stayed active in show business long after Dorothy had returned to her home in Kansas, died last month, a niece and his nephew reported in separate Facebook posts.

Maren had been residing in an assisted-care facility in the San Diego area, Steve Cox, co-author of the 2006 book Short and Sweet: The Life and Times of the Lollipop Munchkin, told The Hollywood Reporter.

At age 19, Maren (at 3-foot-4) appeared as one of the three Lollipop Guild Munchkins (the green one in the middle) in the classic 1939 movie. He had been spotted by an MGM scout while performing in a show at the Bond Hotel in Connecticut and was the youngest of the 124 adult actors to suit up as a Munchkin. (A few children were used as a well.)

(11) PEW PEW. The Pew Research Center has published a new study of how Americans view the roles of NASA and of private companies in space endeavors: “Majority of Americans Believe It Is Essential That the U.S. Remain a Global Leader in Space”

Despite the increasing role of private companies in space exploration, most believe NASA’s role is still vital for future.

Sixty years after the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), most Americans believe the United States should be at the forefront of global leadership in space exploration. Majorities say the International Space Station has been a good investment for the country and that, on balance, NASA is still vital to the future of U.S. space exploration even as private space companies emerge as increasingly important players.

…And, as the private sector increasingly ventures into space – through companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic – 65% of Americans believe NASA should still play a vital role in the exploration of space, while a third (33%) say private companies will ensure enough progress in this area even without NASA’s involvement.

Pew summarizes their findings as regards NASA with this graphic:

Three news sources provide their own takes on what the Pew research “really” means (note the variability in headlines, in particular):

A study published today by the Pew Research Center has found that a majority of Americans reckon that staying on top of the space pile should be a US priority, with NASA still attracting a lot of love.

However, party poppers are unlikely to be fired within NASA’s scattered spaceflight centres since the idea of putting boots back on the Moon or on Mars doesn’t attract quite the same levels of affection.
While previous studies, like this one by the National Science Board, found that 25 per cent of Americans felt too much was spent on space exploration (45 per cent said it was OK and 21 per cent wanted more), the new research focussed on where US citizens think space priorities should lie and who – NASA or the private sector – should be doing the work.

Americans rank monitoring Earth’s climate and detecting asteroids and other objects that could hit the planet as top priorities for NASA, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Lowest on the list: returning astronauts to the Moon — a top priority for the White House.

For the future: Half of the 2,541 Americans surveyed think people will be routinely traveling to space as tourists in the next 50 years. But 58% of respondents said they wouldn’t want to orbit Earth.

The Trump administration has vowed to make America great again in spaceflight, and the centerpiece of its space policy to date has been a re-prioritization of human spaceflight as central to NASA’s activities. As part of this initiative, the White House has sought to reduce funding for satellites to observe environmental changes on Earth and eliminate NASA’s office of education.

However, a new survey of 2,541 Americans by Pew Research Center, which aims to represent the views of US adults, finds that these views appear to be out of step with public priorities.

(Special thanks to Mike Kennedy for pulling this item together.)

(12) MEANWHILE, BACK AT REALITY. NPR reports “Space Station For Sale: NASA Administrator Is In Talks With International Companies”.

Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft is scheduled to blast off Wednesday morning with its three-member crew to begin what is billed as Expeditions 56-57 at the International Space Station.

But new NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, this week is talking openly about a very different future the International Space Station and space travel in general. The big idea is less government and more private investment.

In an interview with the Washington Post published Tuesday, Bridenstine says he is in talks with international companies about commercial management of the space station.

Bridenstine, who was sworn in this past April, says there are many large corporations that are interested the commercial potential of the ISS.

(13) FROM HERE TO THERE. Camestros Felapton became positively obsessed with working up a list of all the possible ideas about “How To Teleport”. Amazing! Here are three examples –

  • Transport only your consciousness, transmit into clone or robot bodies somewhere else. Obviously has a potential duplication issue. Seems a lot like demonic possession the more you think about it.
  • Quantum tunnelling. Fundamental particles can do this so why can’t you? There’s a chance that you might be somewhere else and so sometimes you are somewhere else. Requires messing with the fundamentals of probability.
  • A wormhole/portal. You physically move but through a piece of space that is a shortcut. The implication is that places in space ae all physically closer than they appear.

Then he followed up with a 19-paragraph set of model “Terms and Conditions” for using such a device — highly entertaining!

Teleport-buffer Terms & Conditions

1 You must access and use the HereThere!(tm) teleport-buffer (“teleport-buffer”) only in accordance with these terms and conditions (“Teleport-buffer Terms and Conditions”) the Energiser/De-energiser Terms and Conditions and any instructions for use provided or made available by Tel-E-Port-U Centauri Pty Ltd or its affiliates (“Tel-E-Port-U”) or Engineering Officers from time to time.

2 The teleport-buffer is designed for HereThere!(tm) VIP Club members (“Members”) to contain their own thoughts, DNA-profiles, matter states and continuity of persistent existence profiles. The materials holding thoughts and opinions contained on this teleport-buffer (including the responses in the ‘HereThere!(tm) Help Panel and the ’DNA-check sum’ area) are the thoughts and opinions of the teleported parties and not those of Tel-E-Port-U. Tel-E-Port-U does not endorse or support any buffered thoughts or opinions or guarantee the accuracy of any of the information, beliefs or perceived facts stored on the teleport-buffer no matter how brief or protracted storage in the buffer might be.

(14) CONCAROLINAS. Author Jason Gilbert, who ran ConCarolinas’ film festival, told Facebook readers why he won’t be involved anymore.

On a professional level, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.

ConCarolinas was the first con that ever accepted me as a guest, and I have considered it my “Home Con” for years. But the past few years have shown the con to be moving in a direction that I cannot go. The event itself and the past few days have made my decision easier. Where I was originally going to resign from running the film festival since I only agreed to do it for one year, I cannot make myself return in any capacity. I have seen ConComm members treating guests and vendors with disrespect. I have seen scheduling that made any form of professional development almost impossible, and turned what could have been good panels into a conversation led by people who have no knowledge in that particular subject, and are questioning why they were placed on the panel in the first place when they never signed up for it. Filmmakers who worked hard on their projects and were rewarded with recognition and awards were treated as an afterthought.

But, beyond that, I have seen horrific behavior from the ConComm on social media. A disabled guest was openly mocked in two separate Facebook threads, which disgusted me to my core. I have screenshots. Complaints about John Ringo’s fans using the ConCarolinas page to hunt down Guests and Attendees in efforts to troll and harass them on their own walls to the point of abuse and hate speech were ignored. I have screenshots. The conchair went to David Weber’s page and offered discount passes to next year’s event if those on the “Right” could tell stories of actions taken against them by those on the “Left.” I have screenshots. Two con security volunteers, both with no more than the basic, required 8-hour training in order to receive a permit to carry a concealed weapon in North Carolina, were carrying over the weekend. One of them the head of the team. I have screenshots. I have contacted the hotel and gotten their policy. Based on my conversation with them, they had no idea that, not only were there loaded guns at the event, but that there have been loaded guns at the event for years. One guest will be having a conference call today over this, as management is apparently floored.

(15) TREK ACTORS REUNITED. GeekTyrant has this story covered: “First Trailer For The Sci-Fi Thriller 5TH PASSENGER Brings Together Several Fan-Favorite STAR TREK Actors”

The first trailer has been released for a new sci-fi thriller 5th Passenger and the cool think about this film is that it brings together several fan-favorite Star Trek cast members.

…The cast of the film includes Doug Jones (Star Trek: Discovery), Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Generations), and Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

5th Passenger was funded through Kickstarter and they ended up raising a little over $80,000. The goal was to create the film centered around a strong female lead. The director of the film, Scott Blake, had this to say about his film:

“I directed 5th Passenger because it’s a film I wanted to see. It is inspired by my love of the science fiction genre, The Twilight Zone, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. All twisted storylines with principled characters thrown into extreme situations where society breaks down and their morals and values are tested.”

 

(16) KISSY-FACE. Iphinome hit it out of the park with these two scales for measuring literary displays of affection:

Having given it some thought, here’s a kissy-face scale.

0 – No kissy face
1 – rare and chaste kissy face
2 – What you would expect from two people who date
3 – Delectable, some people do like to make kissy face and it is wonderful but that’s not the main plot
4 – There’s a lot of kissy face here. Might be uncomfortable.
5 – They’re kissing again. Is this a kissing book?

And a second scale for grownup sexy times

0 – Eww no keep your cooties out of my reading time
1 – This book contains grown ups and you should assume they like sexy times from time to time but it isn’t really talked about.
2 – Implied grownup sexy times. I hate a great time last night. Come to my room later. Cut away to another scene after the kissy face.
3 – On page low detail grownup sexy times.
4 – Grown up sexy times with detail, low frequency. One or two such events in a novel length work.
4.5 – Outlander
5 – You’re reading this story because you really like reading detailed depictions of grown up sexy times.

Swordspoint gets three kissy face emoji.

[Thanks to Chip Hitchcock, JJ, DMS, Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, Carl Slaughter, Andrew Porter, Cat Eldridge, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories, Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

141 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 6/6/18 Rishathra And the City And The City

  1. As for the legal issue, since it’s being brought up:
    [Standard disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, I do not currently own a firearm, but these are laws I keep up on for professional and SFnal reasons]
    In North Carolina, unless ConCarolinas did a spectacularly bad job publishing their rules, their rule of not carrying in the convention space carries the weight of law. But, they can exempt their own staff from such rules legally (I am not 100% sure on this point, but if they were a business with employees they could exempt the employees). Being legal doesn’t make it a good idea, and doesn’t mean people can’t refuse to attend in the future because of it.

    The hotel, similarly, can forbid the carry of firearms in the space with the force of law, and this would supersede any convention decision allowing carry. It is my understanding that it is against the hotel’s policy, but beyond that I can’t speak to the specifics.

    Also, if any of the staff was carrying after consuming even a negligible amount of alcohol, then they would be in violation of North Carolina state law.

  2. Lurkertype: Found four in the trash — posted one. I think using the word Viagra caused that. Will go inspect my filters….

  3. In North Carolina, unless ConCarolinas did a spectacularly bad job publishing their rules, their rule of not carrying in the convention space carries the weight of law.

    The rules were right there on the convention rules page for the con and make crystal clear that real guns were prohibited.

  4. I’m a white hetero married cisgender Christian male, and I enjoyed this year’s WisCon, as I have all of the 41 or so I have attended. (I will admit to being a lefty.)

  5. @Mike Glyer: down for me for most of the afternoon, but the site seems fine now.

  6. ULTRAGOTHA said:

    Try e-mailing [email protected] if you have questions about the 2020 Site Selection.

    That was to be my next step, but I was hoping the folks here could point out if I was missing something obvious.

    Kevin Roche said:

    Oops. My bad; I thought the instructions on the supplied ballots were more specific.

    Whew. It wasn’t just me then? Thank you.

    Oh yeah, hey everyone, site selection voting is open. Was that in a scroll already?

  7. @Mike: Oh, duh, that would have done it. I should have tried spammer’s spelling. Thanks, sorry for the trouble!

    Except for my goof, the site’s been working fine, so no trouble to report from here save PEBCAK.

  8. @Laura Haywood-Cory: (ConCarolinas petition)

    What I find hilarious is that people who don’t support the petition are signing it so they can leave comments saying they disagree. Logic is hard! 🙄

    @OGH:

    I had some trouble with open tabs and their comments’ internal links, but I hacked around it (by reopening the posts from the home page) and have had no subsequent problems.

  9. @Cathy: I wonder whether there’s a rule or precedent by which DSC can remove the franchise from a group?

    @Lee:

    It goes the other way too. GAFilk is in their current hotel (a major step up from their first venue) because someone from the first venue was hired on at the current venue and actively recruited them.

    Oh yes, they’ll chase business if it looks plausible. A long time ago there was a call from a hotel rep who’d been moved to (IIRC) Florida, asking if we knew of anyone there who’d like to ask them about an SF convention — and this was someone who had caught a couple of fans ~screwing in semi-public. (She had also gone a round with Harlan on the phone, then met him and wondered why she cared about what such a twit thought.)

    @Rev Bob:

    the whole “the universe erases the time traveler who goes back and kills Grandma in her crib” idea makes no sense.

    Why not? De Camp had a variation of this in “A Gun for Dinosaur”, in which someone who tries to create a paradox gets slammed back to their starting point by the strain they’re putting on space-time, with near-erasure — imagine being subjected for a fraction of a second to thousands of g’s.

    @OGH: that rework explains what happened to all my open tabs, which were giving me a sort-of-localized can’t-find-it message instead of an anonymous 404. (I leave tabs open as long as comments are active — easier to keep up with.) But I was able to get back from the main page to all the Pixel Scrolls I was following.

    @Rev Bob (latest): I assume they figure it’s a de-facto vote; enough opponents will block the intended effect.

  10. @Chip: “Why not? De Camp had a variation of this in “A Gun for Dinosaur”, in which someone who tries to create a paradox gets slammed back to their starting point by the strain they’re putting on space-time”

    …which isn’t a thing that exists.

    I get that paradox is a useful narrative device, but so is “the character did this stupid thing so the plot would work.” For that matter, perpetual motion machines, limitless power sources, Martians who run around naked and look like humans, and formfitting spacesuits with bubble helmets are neat gizmos and/or make for eye-catching covers… but they ain’t realistic.

    I assume they figure it’s a de-facto vote; enough opponents will block the intended effect.

    In other words, they don’t know what petitions are. The stupid, it burns…

  11. Pingback: Pixel Scroll 6/7/18 We All Live In A Yellow Pixel Scroll | File 770

  12. @Rev Bob

    The stupid, it burns…

    Have you considered a dimrhoid ointment? 😛

  13. Lurkertype, the tan ones were my favorite, and I still have only mild regret that they replaced them with blue. It’s just not important to me, and besides, the blue is a nice color, too.

    Also, I’d never heard that about the green ones. Funny.

  14. Kevin Roche on June 7, 2018 at 4:25 pm said:

    Oops. My bad; I thought the instructions on the supplied ballots were more specific.

    And my bad as well. I’d forgotten that we’d written the paper ballots to refer people to the web site, so I effectively wrote a circular reference into the instructions. Apologies to all, and thanks to my boss (“Evil Kevin”) for seeing this before I did and fixing the instructions.

    Laura “Tegan” Gjovaag on June 7, 2018 at 6:55 pm said:

    Oh yeah, hey everyone, site selection voting is open. Was that in a scroll already?

    No, because the PDFs posted on the Worldcon 76 website only last night; I sent Mike an e-mail after the ballots went online. Actually, voting has been open for a couple of weeks now, because the paper ballots were mailed to those members who requested paper publications in PR 3. You aren’t required to vote electronically. (But of course if you aren’t in the USA and/or can’t produce a payment by USD check or money order, you’ll probably need to use the token system, it being the only practical way to pay by credit card unless you send your ballot to the convention in care of someone else and arrange payment that way.)

  15. I too love the cooperation on Face Off. It was in evidence on the first episode of the new season, with a bunch of competitors helping break open a mold. (Actually pretty standard on the show.)

    But I remain most amazed by a season of Project Runway some years ago, when at the finale, with the big prize on the line, all three finalists were sitting on the floor hand-sewing the hem of a dress just moments from the judging, trying to get it finished in time, when the other two could have been doing last-minute work on their own garments.

  16. And for anybody who likes survive-in-the-wild reality shows, a new season of Alone is about to start on the History Channel. In this show, contestants are stranded individually (or one season, in pairs) without even production crew around them — they have to do their own filming. The winner is the one who lasts the longest without calling for help. Going in, the producers have no idea if the contest will last a week, a year, or somewhere in between. (Generally between one and two months.)

    This is a show Ann and I both like a lot.

  17. Couldn’t post a comment this afternoon, then couldn’t load the site, but all is well now. Yay!

    The new URLs for page posts will confuse me until I get used to them. They’re better like this for SEO purposes, supposedly. Odd to see a fully unique URL for individual comment pages, but I have seen that elsewhere and I! Will! Get! Used! To! It! (In about 5 minutes, methinks. 😉 )

    Oh look, I’m used to it.

  18. Ooh and the time machine’s back! Here in 5080, we don’t even believe in time travel, yanno. 😛

  19. @AA
    “Glyer always selectively edits & screens when I post. So this will probably not be seen by anyone except Glyer.”
    This kind of thing makes people look silly, as well as rude.

  20. Ok, here’s the text since my link failed. It’s in a reply to David Weber’s Facebook post from June 4 at 12:18 pm

    Jada Hope
    Thank you, David Weber. For those that want to support us and David, you can do this two ways. We are extending our early bird rate of $25 until mid- July after David’s appearance at Congregate. Purchase a membership.

    Or you cam simple post what a “left” leaning supporter of our event did.

    #SupportConCarolinas

    (Thank you #TRMN member Mark Polanis)

    Please don’t engage in keyboard warfare. The trolls will be on to their cause du jour shortly.

    And thank you to the many who came to me at con and were supportive. And understanding about my brain injury (which some claim say I’m faking).

    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concarolinas-2019-registration-36232803290

    David Weber post
    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1942679852432308&id=100000709350402

  21. “Or you cam simple post what a “left” leaning supporter of our event did.”

    “Please don’t engage in keyboard warfare.”

    Umm? This seems like a contradiction.

  22. Timothy is definitely not left-leaning, unless of course he’s been at the nip too hard.

    @OGH: the other reason I thought it was me but not content is that our oldest UPS died permanent death, with a click and a CLICK and a BEEP BEEP BEEP at about the same time, causing modem disconnection and restart.

  23. If I write “Glyer always selectively edits & screens when I post. So this will probably not be seen by anyone except Glyer.” it will intimidate Glyer into posting it.

    …yeah. And the green ones really are aphrodisiacs….

  24. @Cam Simplepost

    Misspelling your handle is going to become a running joke soon, much like Cunderbick Bandersmatch.

  25. @Rev Bob: In other words, they don’t know what petitions are. The stupid, it burns… No, they just don’t agree with your/the-classic definition. They could start their own opposing petition — or they could scribble on this one enough to ~show that the objective is a minority opinion. (They don’t even have to buy memberships to do it, so they can call on trolls everywhere to sign it.)

  26. I’m not sure that’s an offer of discounted memberships, since the extension seems to be a blanket one. It’s certainly an exhortation to perpetuate the culture wars which is an interesting move from a convention so vocally determined to be apolitical. Not usually quite so nakedly obvious that what someone means by “apolitical” is “politics they agree with”.

  27. @Meredith: Yeah, that’s how I read it. It seemed to be “we’re extending it and SEE EVEN A LEFTY SUPPORTS US WOOHOO.” Or something.

  28. @Chip: “No, they just don’t agree with your/the-classic definition.”

    They can disagree all they want, but signing a petition indicates support for it. If you disagree, don’t sign. If you sign, a comment saying you disagree is irrelevant – because you signed.

  29. That definitely reads to me as “post under this hashtag to support us” not “post what a lefty did and get a discount.”

  30. … No, they just don’t agree with your/the-classic definition. They could start their own opposing petition — or they could scribble on this one enough to ~show that the objective is a minority opinion

    They may do that, but thats still not how petitions work.

    It teminds me of people that are buying a product inlarge numbers and then throw it away. Because they want to show their contempt. Its a form of protest, yes, but mainly they just give the person, they are protesting against, a lot of sales.

    Edit: no problems posting now

  31. Heh. I seduced somebody with green M&Ms once when I was in college. Like many such things, everyone involved has to already be familiar with the purported properties in order for it to work.

  32. Concur, that isn’t remotely “say mean things and we’ll give you a coupon”. I’m not familiar with the author who posted that and kept saying he had screenshots, but I’ll remember to not take him at face value after this.

    Of course, “please engage in keyboard war, but don’t engage in keyboard wars” which is actually from the con, is enough on its own to be bad.

  33. @Rev Bob, @Peer: From what I see, the comments are part of the signature (and can be screen-capped as such). The signers are (at the least) repurposing the petition (to a general document?); it’s not like a piece of paper that only takes signatures.

  34. @Chip:

    What matters isn’t why you sign a petition, only that you have done so. A protest signature counts just as much as an earnest one, in support of the text of the petition. If you don’t support that, don’t sign.

    This is not a difficult concept.

  35. @Rev: also not difficult concepts are that anything on the net can be hijacked, and that the net is not a piece of paper.

    For further discussion, consider the case in which a court decided that a bank was wrong to cash a check on the back of which the endorser had written “kiss my ass” instead of some more-conventional phrase. This is an approximation, but the ratio decidendi was clear that there are phrasings which nullify signatures.

  36. Chip, I don’t know why you’ve chosen this hill to die on, but ConCarolina’s supporters have their own petition. If people want to show support and have that action correctly interpreted, they should sign that. Signing the other petition and leaving an “I disagree” message isn’t a noble act of protest, but a sign that someone doesn’t understand how petitions work and what it means to sign one. It’s an act of idiocy and cluelessness, nothing more.

  37. Bob, I don’t know why you’ve chosen this hill to die on either, because nobody has died and appointed you Humpty Dumpty, Arbiter of Words. It doesn’t matter that the pro-Jada forces have their own petition; vandalizing this one can visibly counter it. That may be swinish but it’s not stupid; stupid would be anybody claiming that the number of signatures by itself means anything.

  38. Chip, when someone turns in a petition somewhere, two things about that petition are reported: the goal as stated in the petition text and the number of signatures. Nobody goes through the comments to see if it was signed “for real” or as a protest, because signing “against” isn’t a thing. If you disagree with the petition, you don’t sign. If you sign, your signature will be counted in support.

    It’s like voting, in that respect. You can fill in the circle next to a candidate you loathe, and scrawl a hateful screed about how much you dislike them next to it, but all that matters is that you voted for that candidate. If anyone looks at your ballot, they may laugh at the absurdity of your doing so, but they’ll count your vote as “for,” not as “against” or “abstain.” After all, the instructions are clear. It’s not their fault you ignored them and did your own thing.

  39. @Rev. Bob and Chip Hitchcock

    I think you’ve both made your respective points quite thoroughly and repeatedly. Are you likely to get anything out of rewording them for another few rounds..?

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